


Painful Truth

by madmeridian



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Post-Canon, Post-Kira Investigation (Death Note)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27256177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmeridian/pseuds/madmeridian
Summary: Set after the events of the Kira investigation. Near makes the decision to tell Sachiko and Sayu the truth about Light.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	Painful Truth

**Author's Note:**

> a prompt from a lovely anon on tumblr: “Do you think you could do a story several years post-canon, where Near decides to (or has to because circumstances) tell Sachiko and Sayu the truth about Light? (If you’re comfortable nit writing Meronia of course, no pressure if you’re not interested)

Near steps out of the car. It’s been a while since he’s been outside and it feels odd, but nice. It’s clear and crisp out. He supposes it wasn’t a bad day to go out. 

Rester waits in the car, watching him with concerned eyes, as he often did. Near goes up to the front door of the Yagami’s house alone and knocks on their door. The house is nice, but Near feels a cold emptiness within. Or perhaps it’s simply his own imagination, knowing what the two people inside have been through. 

It’s a moment before Sachiko opens the door, looking tired. Her clothes are wrinkled and she seems… well, Near can’t quite tell what it is. He was never good at reading emotions, but the words that come to mind aren’t good ones. 

“Can I help you?” 

She looks at him with confusion, but that doesn’t bother Near. He knows he’s odd. He is still wearing his usual pajamas, with the addition of shoes. It’s certainly not what she would be used to. 

“I’m here about your son’s death,” Near says calmly, blunt as ever. He reaches up to twirl a piece of hair. “May I come in?” 

Sachiko frowns, blinking down at him for a moment, before stepping aside to let him in. Near quickly takes off his shoes once inside. He never did like wearing them. 

She leads him to the living room, offering him something to drink. Near shakes his head and sits down on the couch. He doesn’t want to be here long. There are pictures of the family on the walls and Near briefly wonders if Sachiko will take down the ones of Light when he is finished here. Many of the pictures are of him, especially of him young, and it makes Near shudder to think that bright, smiling child turned into a mass murderer. He turns away from them, trying to forget them. 

The little sister, Sayu, is there on the couch too. She glances over at him warily. Probably still not fully recovered from her involvement with the case herself. 

“What can I help you with?” Near turns his attention back to Sachiko.

“I was part of the Kira investigation,” Near starts slowly. “I’m afraid the circumstances surrounding your son’s death have been… falsified.” 

Near begins to regret not bringing Rester in. He was never good at being gentle or delicate when talking and the last thing he wants to deal with is accidentally making someone cry. 

“What do you mean?” Sayu pipes up. Her attention has been taken away from the television and towards him. 

Near hesitates to tell them. He made the decision to do so after a conversation with the rest of the SPK members, when they’d been reminiscing over the Kira case with a few alcoholic drinks. They thought it was rather cruel that Sachiko and Sayu wouldn’t know of what Light had done. The same way it was cruel that Soichiro had died believing that his son truly was innocent. 

Near had mulled it over and resolved to go himself to tell them. It had been a few years since the end of the case, but Near figured better later than never. 

Now, he pauses. _Is this wise to do?_

Sachiko sighs and sits down, her hands folded in her lap. 

“Go ahead, dear,” she says softly. “I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say.” 

Near blinks at her and opens his mouth. 

“Light Yagami was Kira. He confessed and was later shot when he attempted to kill someone.” 

It’s not the complete truth at all, but it is what they needed to know. He was certain that Sayu probably knew of the notebook and its supernatural abilities because of her... involvement, but he didn’t think he should tell them about the shinigami that took Light’s life. 

Sachiko sighs deeply while Sayu stutters out disbelievingly. She takes a tissue and dabs at her eyes a little bit. Near shifts uncomfortably, watching her decide on her next words. 

“I thought so,” Sachiko says sadly. “He’s always been such an ambitious boy and- well, I did think it was a bit odd, the way the killings- and what Soichiro told me too-“ 

She cuts off and looks around, as if lost. Near has a feeling she doesn’t want to look at him at all. She’d probably prefer it if he left. 

“I’m sorry,” Near says, the words tumbling out before he could stop them.

She looks at him with teary eyes and gives him a sad smile that rattles him a little bit. Near tries not to flinch when her hand comes up to pat his shoulder. He doesn’t like touch, but if it makes her feel better, he’ll let her do it. 

“He’s taken someone from you, hasn’t he?” 

Near sucks in a breath and tries not to think about L, about Mello, about Matt. His ghosts, forever haunting him. _How did she know...?_

“More than one,” Near admits. 

Sayu stares at them as if they’d both grown a second head. Near isn’t surprised. She looked up to Light and probably wanted to believe he died a hero’s death, not that he was the villain. It would take some time for her probably.

Sachiko looks at him for another moment, with some sort of emotion in her eye that Near cannot place. He’s not sure that he wants to, but it’s warm and it makes him feel less nervous about being here. Near cannot help but draw the parallel between the way people trusted Light with ease and the way he was trusting Sachiko with ease. Though, he thinks that Sachiko’s isn’t fake. 

“Why don’t you join us for dinner, dear?” 

_How strange…_

Near frowns slightly and stares at her. Dinner? Why would she want him to stay? Sayu already looks like she’s about to cry and Sachiko already has. Shouldn’t they want him to leave so they can grieve? 

But, Sayu is nodding along, saying he should come to dinner too. Near looks between the both of them and knows he shouldn’t stay, that he has work to do, but he’s not particularly keen to go back and have his mind taken over by dead people and cases and being L. Even though he doesn’t feel like L.

He contemplates his decision. 

“I can stay for dinner.”

**Author's Note:**

> I normally write shippy stuff but this was a nice change of pace... and what a wonderful prompt. I always thought that Sachiko would worry about what Light could become and if Soichiro had let it slip that L thought Light was Kira... she’d have a nagging feeling her son isn’t quite there. I also think she’s a very underrated character (i mean every woman in death note is but that’s another topic for another day). And I feel like she’d have that motherly instinct and see Near’s own pain about Kira and try at least a little to just... help him. And then I thought Sayu would be beyond confused about it... because how could she know? She respects and loves Light a lot so I thought she’d be very disbelieving... and then process it and then be very upset about it, especially after what she’s been through. 
> 
> I rambled quite a bit but I loved this request a lot (and a quick side note for those who don’t follow me, I am halting requests for a little bit! I got an influx of them and I need time to do them) So thank you to the anon who sent it! 
> 
> Please, let me know how I did (I used to shippy stuff so this isn’t my usual way of writing and I’m not sure if I got it right) Thank you for reading and for any kudos/comments you leave! <3


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